I-Team series spurs renewed interest in Berit Beck case

Apr. 15, 2014

INSIDE THE I-TEAM | JOHN FERAK

Written by

Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team

Last summer’s Cold Cases series drew considerable interest from readers across Wisconsin and beyond.

A number of readers remarked that it would be great to see resolution to some of these cases as the result of our extensive four-week I-Team series meant to draw more public attention to the state’s backlog of unsolved murders.

The 1990 murder of Berit Beck was one of those cases that was the focus of a front-page story during the series.

Beck, who was 18, was abducted on her way to Appleton. Authorities recovered Beck’s body six weeks later in a ditch near Waupun. The person who suffocated and strangled her got away with her murder ever since.

This month, unexpectedly, Beck’s murder case is back in the public spolight again. This time, it’s thanks to renewed interest by law enforcement officials at the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities there announced that a Kenosha man is now considered a prime suspect in Beck’s abduction and homicide.

However, Sheriff Mick Fink told reporters at a press conference that authorities don’t plan to make an arrest anytime soon.

Perhaps Fink’s detectives are finally on the right track and perhaps an arrest is coming sooner than anybody is willing to say publicly.

Sadly, Beck’s parents already have waited 24 years for justice. During the series, Beck’s mother voiced displeasure with how the investigation of her daughter’s murder was being handled.

Obviously, the renewed attention on the Kenosha man shows that Fond du Lac County does care about getting this high-profile murder case solved, once and for all.